The ASRock Z68 Extreme4 was kind of "lacking" in features and performance (except for the USB) when compared to the Asus Maximus Extreme-Z but, the ASRock Z68 Extreme7 keeps ASRock back (and ahead if it was my choice) in the 1155-race.

The ASRock P67 Extreme6 was in danger with the stepping, so that was a no-go for me also.

Anybody got an idea when the ASRock Z68 Extreme7 will hit the market in Europe and especially Holland?But FIVE PCIe x16 slots? I mean come'on, what the *** for?! Talk about overkill!

"so that if one GPU is used, the connectors bypass the NF200 chip so we don’t see the 2-3% decrease in performance that it brings"?

Oh please, just to make up 2-3% doesn't justify it for me, I'm sorry.They could easily use the space for USEFULL hardware.But, I'd really like a shot at that board!Reply

The more the merrier. If you start populating the board with PCIe cards like RAID, sound, TV card, etc. then it's all worth it. The fact that you can move your GPU card or cards to different locations of the board while shifting the other cards to other slots in order to maximize air flow or convenience of access just adds the icing to the cake.

<quote> They could easily use the space for USEFULL hardware. </quote>

WHAT hardware ARE you talking about? Every extra PCIe slot IS useful hardware. Every extra PCIe slot is precious. I am willing to incur 5% loss in performance in order to gain 2 additional PCIe slots for future add-ons--which is the useful hardware you are must be talking about.Reply

Having worked in an engineering environment (CATV RF & Fiber Optics), this is note entirely out of the ordinary. I am somewhat guilty at doing this as well. It typically comes down to time and work load. About once a month I would take some time and re-organize my area, as I did try to keep it clean and organized, it just didn't always happen.

We also kept around competitors products. Was always interesting to see what manufacturers actually met the specs that they advertised. And sadly, it was only about half.Reply

My thoughts exactly. Sound like the author got up on the wrong side of the bed before writing this article. Either that or he got snubbed by the receptionist during his visit and he's feeling vindictive.Reply

Another "me too" post. Has there ever been a mATX board with more than 2 system fan headers?

And keen observation about this being a smart way to lay out the SATA ports so that the latch side is facing out on both sides! Probably Ian didn't realize that either, perhaps an after-the-fact editor's note is in order?Reply

Aha OK I see where you're coming from. Regarding the SATA ports, for me, it's a case of fitting them in without having to directly look at them - do you ever have the situation where you try and plug in a USB device to a USB port, it doesn't go in first time, then you turn it around and it still doesn't go in, then you have to actually look for third time successful? With SATA connectors, that's how I feel if they're alternately rotated. It all depends on how often you decide to add/remove drives from your systems I guess, but everyone has or can have a different opinion so it seems.

Regarding fan headers, my preference is always to be able to fit a Corsair H50 water cooler, and possibly other fans in the vicinity. So I need one header for the pump and two for the radiator fans in the socket area, then having a look at where the other headers are in relation to where fans might be in a case.

<quote> I understand that there are distinct legacy applications that require these connectors – but not on an enthusiast product (I have similar issues with the new Fatal1ty series). Perhaps make a 970X-Legacy with as many legacy features as possible, but don’t try and put them into an enthusiast product. </quote>

Enthusiast products require these connectors. I look for an enthusiast board when buying one but I look for one with a floppy connector and preferably with an IDE connector as well. Floppy is a must for me. I was looking to buy a Fatal1ty series board and I am glad they went with the inclusion of a floppy connector. I just bought a floppy/multi-reader combo and why?.. so I can have, as an enthusiast, the best of both worlds. Now, if only every manufacturer would include Intel LAN on their motherboards it would make life so much easier--ASUS already realized the mistake of the industry and started to integrate Intel LAN into their boards--thanks ASUS.Reply

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